French Title Histories (1922-1988)

Lineages of all the notable championship titles in French pro wrestling from 1922 to 1988.

In this article I will attempt to put together all the notable title lineages in French (catch) pro wrestling history from the early 1920s through the late 1980s. Before the lineages themselves, there’s a few things that need to be explained.

- Due to how French pro wrestling operated on an organizational level, championships in France were typically not sanctioned by a promotion, but by a governing body instead. In France there were governing bodies for pro wrestling, which ruled over the shows of the various promoters under their umbrella and sanctioned the championships that would be featured on those shows. If you’ve followed boxing, it’s something somewhat similar to how things are with WBC/WBO/WBA/IBF. By the mid 1960s there were many governing bodies in France (over 20) and they turned into a joke, but earlier on there were only a few and they had some real power within the wrestling industry (especially FFLP/FFL). French pro wrestling’s governing bodies largely disappeared as a concept in the mid to late 1970s.

- This research is a work in progress. The title lineages below are by no means complete and they’ll never be complete, especially the later years. I’ve pieced them together as best as I could, but there are definitely a lot of gaps too. Mistakes are possible too, particularly in terms of who was recognized by what governing body at what time. Each governing body usually had its own champions. On occasion two or more bodies would work together and recognize the same champions. There were also situations where a champion from one group would jump to another group so the body associated with the first group would stop recognizing him as champion, but the body associated with the second group would start recognizing him as champion. Mistakes in the press and on posters were commonplace too - listing the wrong weight classes or listing someone as the current champ when they had already lost the title. So overall, trying to figure out these lineages can get quite complicated.

- Most of the European and World Championship lineages started out of nowhere - a foreign guy would come into the French territory, he would be recognized as the champion by one of the French governing bodies and that French lineage would go on from there.

- Long title reigns of several years were common in French pro wrestling. It wasn’t a case where a guy would hold a title and never defend it though - titles were being defended on a regular basis throughout France and sometimes outside of France too. That said, while overall titles did have importance in France, they weren’t the be-all and end-all and the business didn’t revolve around them, for the most part.

Some of the World Heavyweight champions in France: Frank Sexton, Frank Valois, Felix Miquet, Hercules Cortez

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Governing body: FFPL (Fédération Française Professionnelle de Lutte) / FFLP (Fédération Française de Lutte Professionnelle) / FFL (Fédération Française de Lutte)
Background: Created in 1922 as FFPL - French (catch) pro wrestling’s first governing body. Renamed FFLP in 1930. Dissolved in 1940 when pro wrestling was banned in France. After WWII it was effectively replaced by FFL (the French amateur wrestling federation), which at that point started governing both amateur and professional wrestling in France. FFL cut ties with pro wrestling in 1953 and FFLP returned in its place.
Notable promoters associated with it: The vast majority of French promoters until late 1950 were under the FFLP / FFL umbrella. Raoul Paoli and Alex Goldstein left the fold in 1954. Henri Chausson was one of the key players in the mid 1950s. In the later part of the 1950s and through the 1960s Maurice Durand was the main FFLP guy.

World Heavyweight Championship:
= November 1922: Constant le Marin was recognized as the first champion, specifically as World Mixed Wrestling champion (mixed as in Greco-Roman and catch). In prior years le Marin had won World Greco-Roman, catch and mixed wrestling tournaments in Paris so he made the most sense as the first champion.
= December 5, 1922: Robert Roth defeated le Marin in Paris for the title. A week later the Greco-Roman aspect was dropped.
- October 1925: Robert Roth retired from pro wrestling and his claim went away. FFPL had already become inactive the previous year.
= August 10, 1937: Jim Londos had a title defense in Paris. FFLP had recognized Londos as the champion right before his arrival in France. This was the only officially sanctioned World Heavyweight Title match in France in the 1930s. Londos’ only match in France.
= November 13, 1946: Steve Casey had a title defense in Paris. FFL had recognized Casey as the champion prior to the match. Casey’s only match in France.
= March 15, 1948: Yvon Robert wrestled his first match in France since 1939 and FFL recognized him as the champion. He defended the title a couple of times in the following weeks.
= January 9, 1950: Frank Sexton was recognized as the champion and defended his title in France for the first time.
= January 30, 1951: Felix Miquet defeated Sexton for the title in Zurich, Switzerland.
= February 19, 1951: Yvar Martinson defeated Miquet for the title in Paris.
= April 2, 1951: Frank Sexton defeated Martinson for the title in Paris. Sexton’s last title defense in France was on March 29, 1954.

European Heavyweight Championship:
= January 25, 1924: Laurent Gerstmans defeated Salvador Chevalier in Paris to become the first champion.
- Later that year FFPL more or less disappeared and Gerstmans’ claim was forgotten.
= January 27, 1936: Henri Deglane defeated Kola Kwariani in a tournament final in Paris to become the champion.
= April 6, 1936: Dan Koloff defeated Deglane for the title in Paris.
= March 22, 1937: Al Pereira defeated Koloff for the title in Paris.
- September 19, 1937: Dan Koloff defeated Pereira for the title in Sofia, Bulgaria, but the title change wasn’t recognized in France.
= November 15, 1937: Dan Koloff defeated Pereira for the title in Paris.
- January 1938: Koloff retired from the ring due to health issues. Koloff was still the champion. There was talk of crowning a new champion, but they never got around to it.
= September 29, 1945: Yvar Martinson was the recognized champion. The claim was he had won the title in 1943, but that probably wasn’t true.
= February 16, 1946: Charles Rigoulot defeated Martinson for the title in Paris.
= December 9, 1946: Yvar Martinson defeated Rigoulot for the title in Paris.
= May 19, 1947: Henri Deglane defeated Martinson for the title in Paris.
= January 5, 1948: Yvar Martinson defeated Deglane for the title in Paris.
= November 8, 1948: Bert Assirati defeated Martinson for the title in Paris.
= April 4, 1949: Yvar Martinson defeated Assirati for the title in Paris.
= November 7, 1949: Felix Miquet defeated Martinson for the title in Paris.
- October 7, 1952: Miquet jumped ship to the FFCP group and was stripped of the recognition.
= December 22, 1953: Lucky Simunovich was the recognized champion.
= March 15, 1954: Francois Miquet defeated Simunovich for the title in Paris.
- October 1954: Miquet was part of the Paoli/Goldstein promotion so when they broke away and created FIC, Miquet lost the FFLP recognition.

French Heavyweight Championship:
= April 28, 1923: Salvador Chevalier defeated Francois Berthod in Paris to become the champion.
- The following year FFPL more or less disappeared and Chevalier's claim was forgotten.
= February 4, 1935: Henri Deglane defeated Rene Michot in a tournament final in Paris to become the champion.
- Post-WWII the title was declared vacant.
= June 5, 1945: Felix Miquet defeated Arthur Ghevaert in Paris to become the new champion.
- Miquet relocated to North America in fall 1945 and the title became vacant.
= July 6, 1946: Arthur Ghevaert defeated Charles Pierlot in Reims to become the new champion. Ghevaert was still the champion as of April 17, 1947, but no longer the champion on April 30, 1947.
= May 13, 1948: Charles Pierlot was the champion.
= March 10, 1949: Al Cabrol was the champion.
= November 13, 1949: Charles Rigoulot defeated Cabrol for the title in Paris.
- December 1950: Rigoulot jumped ship to the FFCP group and was stripped of the recognition.
- April 23, 1952: The title was still vacant.
= September 10, 1952: Yvar Martinson was the champion.
- late 1952: Martinson left the FFL group and was stripped of the recognition.
- September 22, 1953: the title was still vacant.
= November 4, 1955: Robert Duranton was the champion. Duranton was still the champion as of January 14, 1956.

World Light Heavyweight Championship:
= April 28, 1951: John Swenski was the recognized champion.
= April 23, 1952: Francois Miquet was the recognized champion. The story in France was that he had won the title in the USA, but that wasn’t true.
- September 16, 1952: Miquet announced that he’s relinquishing the title, because he’s moving up to the heavyweight division.
= December 17, 1955: Gilbert Leduc was the champion. He defeated Gerry de Jager for the vacant title. He wasn’t the champion yet as of November 12, 1955. Leduc was still the champion as of October 18, 1962.
= February 2, 1963: James Brown was the champion. Brown was still the champion as of March 29, 1963.
= August 14, 1963: Gilbert Leduc was the champion. Leduc was still the champion as of July 31, 1971.

European Light Heavyweight Championship:
= April 23, 1952: Axel Cadier was the recognized champion. Cadier was still the champion as of September 10, 1952.
- At some point in late 1952 or early 1953 the title was declared vacant.
= March 27, 1953: Jacques Ducrez defeated Jim Oliver for the vacant title in Paris.
= April 4, 1954: Roger Guettier defeated Ducrez for the title in Paris.
- October 1954: Guettier was part of the Paoli/Goldstein promotion so when they broke away and created FIC, Guettier lost the FFLP recognition.
= December 31, 1954: Gilbert Leduc was the champion. Leduc was still the champion as of October 1, 1955, but was no longer champion on December 17, 1955.
= November 5, 1957: Robert Gastel was the champion. Gastel was still the champion as of May 24, 1963.
= April 9, 1965: Michel Chaisne was the champion. Chaisne was still the champion as of December 16, 1966.

French Light Heavyweight Championship:
= May 23, 1952: Lucien Fleurot defeated Jacques Ducrez in a tournament final in Paris to become the first champion.
- October 1954: Fleurot was part of the Paoli/Goldstein promotion so when they broke away and created FIC, Fleurot lost the FFLP recognition.
= March 31, 1957: Robert Gastel was the champion.

World Mid-Heavyweight Championship:
= January 8, 1948: Stan Karolyi was the champion. Karolyi had been the European Mid-Heavyweight Title holder for many years and now, fresh off his U.S. tour, he was recognized as the World champion as well. Karolyi was still the champion as of February 1959.
- September 1952: Karolyi jumped ship to the FFCP group and was stripped of the recognition.
- September 1954: Karolyi returned to the FFLP group and regained the recognition.
= March 1, 1959: Gran Amenaza was the champion.
= March 14, 1961: James Brown was the champion. Brown was still the champion as of May 4, 1962.

European Mid-Heavyweight Championship:
= December 11, 1935: Stan Karolyi defeated Karl Reginsky in a tournament final in Paris to become the first champion. Karolyi was still the champion as of May 13, 1948 - at the time he was also recognized as the World Mid-Heavyweight champion so eventually the European Title was declared vacant.
= March 9, 1949: Rene Bukovac defeated Jef Labrosse for the vacant title in Paris. Bukovac was still the champion as of January 18, 1951.
= April 23, 1952: Jose Tarres was the recognized champion. He wasn’t wrestling in France at the time, nor was he the European champion in his native Spain - he had been the champion in Spain previously, but currently the title was held by Pedro Bengoechea.
= At some point between April 23 and August 23, 1952: Pedro Bengoechea was recognized as the champion in France - he already held the title in Spain and at this time the French and Spanish amateur wrestling federations worked together and recognized the same champion. This sort of mutual recognition in France and Spain would happen on occasion, and this was especially true during this time period.
= August 23, 1952: Jules Delmee defeated Bengoechea for the title in Valencia, Spain.
= September 19, 1952: Jose Tarres defeated Delmee for the title in Barcelona, Spain.
= right before December 4, 1953: Rene Bukovac defeated Tarres for the title in Toulouse.
= August 21, 1954: Jesus Chausson defeated Bukovac for the title in Madrid.
= October 12, 1954: Raymond Bukovac defeated Chausson for the title in Zaragoza, Spain. Bukovac was still the champion as of February 5, 1955.
= May 11, 1955: Jean Bout was the champion. Bout was still the champion as of March 18, 1958.
- At some point in 1958: Bout was no longer part of the FFLP group and was stripped of the recognition.
= August 6, 1959: Claude Montourcy was the champion. Montourcy was still the champion as of February 27, 1960.
= April 2, 1960: Jose Tarres was the champion. Tarres was also the champion in Spain at the same time.
= November 24, 1961: Claude Montourcy was the champion. Montourcy was still the champion as of April 30, 1966.
= February 11, 1968: Guy Mercier was the champion. Mercier was still the champion as of March 16, 1971.

French Mid-Heavyweight Championship:
= February 4, 1935: Gabriel Martinville defeated Emile Rivollier in a tournament final in Paris to become the first champion.
- After WWII: Since Martinville was no longer an active wrestler, the title was declared vacant.
= November 16, 1946: Rene Bukovac was the champion. Bukovac was still the champion as of September 30, 1947.
= April 28, 1948: Jo Baratte was the champion. Baratte was still the champion as of May 13, 1948.
= February 16, 1949: Rene Bukovac defeated Baratte for the title in Paris.
= right before January 13, 1950: Lou Rudelle defeated Bukovac for the title in Rouen. Rudelle was still the champion as of May 5, 1950.
= May 11, 1950: Jean Jourlin was the champion.
= October 19, 1951: Marcel Manuel was the champion. Manuel was still the champion as of December 12, 1951.
= February 19, 1952: Jean Bout was the champion. He wasn’t champion yet as of January 19, 1952.
- April 1954: Bout left the FFLP group and was stripped of the recognition.
= April 23, 1954: Pierre Boss defeated Gilles Wacklis for the vacant title in Paris. Boss was still the champion as of December 17, 1955.
= May 5, 1956: Michel Chaisne was the champion. Chaisne was still the champion as of November 5, 1957.
- At some point in 1958: Chaisne left the FFLP group and was stripped of the recognition.

World Middleweight Championship:
= May 11, 1950: Dai Sullivan was the recognized champion. He hadn’t wrestled in France yet at this point.
= April 23, 1952: Jack Dale was the recognized champion. Dale was still the champion as of December 8, 1952.
= April 7, 1956: Roger Laroche was the champion.
- At some point in 1958: Laroche was no longer part of the FFLP group and was stripped of the recognition.
= March 1961: Jacky Corn was the recognized champion. Corn was still the champion as of August 14, 1963.

European Middleweight Championship:
= June 9, 1937: Alphonse Zwahlen defeated Jean Bianconi in a tournament final in Paris to become the first champion.
= December 26, 1938: Jean Bianconi defeated Alphonse Zwahlen for the title in Paris.
= March 13, 1939: Alphonse Zwahlen defeated Jean Bianconi for the title in Paris.
= April 4, 1942: Albert Arnaud defeated Zwahlen for the title in Paris.
- June 29, 1947: Albert Arnaud defeated Jack Dale in a title unification match. On February 13, 1947, Dale was introduced in France as the recognized European Middleweight champion in the UK so eventually the two wrestled to determine who the real champion was.
- January 20, 1948: Arnaud relinquished the title because he was no longer an active wrestler.
= May 5, 1948: Raymond Bukovac defeated Marcel Nonest for the vacant title in Paris.
= May 16, 1949: Georges Freymond was the champion. He had recently defeated Bukovac for the title.
= October 17, 1949: Raymond Bukovac was the champion.
= February 10, 1950: Lino Ventura was the champion.
- Ventura was still recognized as the champion as of May 11, 1950, but he had suffered a career-ending injury on March 31, 1950, so eventually the title became vacant.
= April 23, 1952: Felix Lamban was the recognized champion.
= May 6, 1952: Jack Dale was the recognized champion.
= May 15, 1953: Gilbert Leduc defeated Dale for the title in Paris.
= November 27, 1953: Celso Sotelo defeated Leduc for the title in Barcelona, Spain. The title change was not reported in France until January 26, 1954.
= May 10, 1954: Gilbert Leduc was the champion. Leduc was still the champion as of October 13, 1954.
= November 20, 1954: Roger Laroche was the champion. Laroche was still the champion as of February 11, 1956.
= May 5, 1956: Claude Montourcy was the champion. Montourcy was still the champion as of June 26, 1959.
= May 26, 1962: Guy Mercier was the champion. Mercier was still the champion as of December 4, 1966.

French Middleweight Championship:
= May 10, 1935: Emile Pouveroux defeated Albert Arnaud in a tournament final in Paris to become the first champion.
- somewhere between October 1936 and December 1936 Emile Pouveroux moved up to the mid-heavyweight division and relinquished the title.
= January 7, 1937: Jean Bianconi defeated Albert Arnaud for the vacant title in Paris.
- After WWII: Bianconi was no longer an active wrestler so the title was declared vacant.
= May 31, 1945: Andre Trante defeated Marcel Nonest for the vacant title in a tournament final in Paris.
= October 29, 1946: Marcel Nonest was the champion. He had recently defeated Trante for the title in Reims. Nonest was still the champion as of May 13, 1948.
= November 9, 1948: Georges Freymond defeated Nonest for the title in Paris.
= March 18, 1949: Henri Cogan defeated Freymond for the title in Paris.
= January 2, 1950: Henri Renault was the champion. He had recently defeated Cogan for the title. According to a January 3, 1951, article Renault was still the champion, but an earlier December 22, 1950 referred to him as an ex-champion.
= February 14, 1951: Andre Poulain was the champion.
- At some point before May 25, 1951, the title became vacant.
= May 25, 1951: Claude Montourcy defeated Andre Gasnier for the vacant title in Paris.
= January 8, 1952: Andre Gasnier was the champion. He had recently defeated Montourcy for the title in Strasbourg. Gasnier was still the champion as of September 10, 1952.
= November 15, 1952: Roger Laroche was the champion. He had recently become the champion. Laroche was still the champion as of August 5, 1955.
= January 23, 1955: Claude Montourcy was the champion. He may have won it on January 9 in Paris by defeating Laroche. Montourcy was still the champion as of January 14, 1956.

World Welterweight Championship:
= March 24, 1950: Harry Fields was the recognized champion..
= March 31, 1950: Gilbert Leduc defeated Fields for the title in Paris.
= December 22, 1952: Cliff Taylor defeated Leduc for the title in Paris. Taylor was still the champion as of January 14, 1956.
= September 20, 1957: Rene Ben Chemoul was the champion.
- At some point in 1958: Chemoul was no longer part of the FFLP group and was striped of the recognition.

European Welterweight Championship:
= March 30, 1938: Harold Angus was the recognized champion.
= April 4, 1938: Roger Mollet defeated Angus for the title in Paris.
= November 26, 1947: Rino Deon defeated Mollet for the title in Paris.
= December 18, 1947: Gilbert Leduc defeated Deon for the title in Paris.
= March 24, 1948: Roger Mollet defeated Leduc for the title in Paris.
- Early 1949: The title was declared vacant, because Mollet wasn’t currently active in France (he was in North America).
= April 1, 1949: Gilbert Leduc defeated Johnny Lipman for the vacant title in Paris. Leduc was still the champion as of July 4, 1953.
- Fall 1953: Leduc had moved up to the middleweight division earlier in the year so the title was declared vacant.
= October 30, 1953: Rene Ben Chemoul defeated Mike Quesick for the vacant title in Paris. Chemoul was still the champion as of January 11, 1958.
= February 3, 1958: Guy Laroche was the champion. Laroche was still the champion as of April 26, 1958.
= October 12, 1962: Isha Israel was the champion. Israel was still the champion as of January 15, 1965.

French Welterweight Championship:
= February 5, 1936: Alexandre Poizat defeated Roger Mollet in a tournament final in Paris to become the first champion.
= January 17, 1938: Roger Mollet defeated Alexandre Poizat for the title in Paris.
- After WWII: the title was declared vacant.
= May 17, 1945: Rene Van Coppenolle defeated Georges Freymond for the vacant title in a tournament final in Paris. Van Coppenolle was still the champion as of March 1, 1946.
- Fall 1946: The title became vacant.
= December 25, 1946: Lucien Malezieux defeated Gilbert Leduc for the vacant title in a tournament final in Paris.
= May 21, 1947: Gilbert Leduc defeated Malezieux for the title in Paris.
= March 24, 1948: Roger Mollet defeated Leduc for the title in Paris.
- Early 1949: The title was declared vacant, because Mollet wasn’t currently active in France (he was in North America).
= February 25, 1949: Gilbert Leduc defeated Andre Gasnier for the vacant title in Paris.
= December 8, 1949: Georges Huard defeated Leduc for the title in Nantes. Huard was still the champion as of May 11, 1950.
= May 20, 1950: Felix Frey was the champion. He had recently defeated Huard for the title. Frey was still the champion as of February 19, 1951.
- Fall 1952: The title became vacant.
= October 17, 1952: Guy Robin defeated Georges Huard for the vacant title in Paris. Robin was still the champion as of May 16, 1953.
= September 22, 1953: Andre Chauveau was the champion.
= November 11, 1953: Albert Falaux defeated Chauveau for the title in Paris. Falaux was still the champion as of November 18, 1956.
= March 18, 1958: Rene Asselin was the champion. Asselin was still the champion as of March 30, 1958.
= August 6, 1959: Jean Corne was the champion. Corne was still the champion as of August 18, 1962.
= October 12, 1962: Bob Plantin was the champion.
= December 4, 1962: Jean Corne was the champion. Corne was still the champion as of April 30, 1966.

World Lightweight Championship:
= May 11, 1950: George Kidd was the recognized champion. Kid was still the champion as of April 23, 1952.
= October 27, 1953: Carlton Smith was the champion.
= November 3, 1954: George Kidd was the champion. Kidd was still the champion as of January 31, 1956.
= April 7, 1956: Modesto Aledo was the champion. Aledo was still the champion as of November 2, 1957, but was no longer champion on January 5, 1958.
= March 30, 1958: George Kidd was the champion.
= January 19, 1960: Isha Israel was the champion. Israel was still the champion as of January 19, 1960.
= January 21, 1960: Henri Le Mao was the champion.
= April 2, 1960: Isha Israel was the champion. Israel was still the champion as of April 21, 1960.
= December 1, 1961: Henri Le Mao was the champion. Le Mao was still the champion as of February 27, 1969.

European Lightweight Championship:
= February 1949: Eftymadlis was the recognized champion.
= right before February 8, 1949: Louis Ballery defeated Eftymadlis for the title in Beauvais. Ballery was still the champion as of January 26, 1950.
= February 18, 1950: Roland Daumal was the champion. Daumal was still the champion as of October 11, 1950.
= February 14, 1951: Maurice Heros was the champion.
= May 30, 1951: Louis Ballery was the champion.
= July 19, 1951: Francis Gauthier was the champion. Gauthier was still the champion as of September 10, 1952.
= October 14, 1952: George Kidd was the champion.
= October 24, 1952: Guy Laroche defeated Kidd for the title in Paris.
= April 24, 1953: George Kidd defeated Laroche for the title in Paris. Kidd was still the champion as of April 3, 1954.
= December 15, 1957: Modesto Aledo was the champion.
= March 1, 1959: Jean Rabut was the champion.
= August 6, 1959: Roberto Ricetti was the champion. Ricetti was still the champion as of June 12, 1964.
= September 3, 1966: Michel Saulnier was the champion.

French Lightweight Championship:
= January 22, 1936: Albert Ben Chemoul defeated Julien Depuichaffray in a tournament final in Paris to become the first champion.
= December 21, 1936: Alexandre Froid defeated Albert Ben Chemoul for the title in Paris.
- March 24, 1938: Froid moved up a weight class and the title was declared vacant.
= March 23, 1945: Gabriel Laurier defeated Robert Maixent for the vacant title in Paris.
= April 13, 1946: Louis Ballery was the champion.
= September 24, 1946: Rene Guilleminot defeated Louis Ballery for the title in Paris. Guilleminot was still the champion as of March 17, 1947.
= May 13, 1948: Roland Daumal was the champion. Daumal was still the champion as of June 8, 1948, but was no longer champion on December 4, 1948.
= December 9, 1948: Louis Ballery was the champion.
= right before May 10, 1949: Gilbert Naudin defeated Ballery for the title in Bordeaux.
= December 16, 1949: Rene Ben Chemoul defeated Naudin for the title in Paris.
- around January 26, 1950: Chemoul moved up to the welterweight division and relinquished the title.
= right before February 1, 1950: Maurice Heros defeated Gilbert Naudin for the vacant title. Heros was still the champion as of September 22, 1953.
= May 16, 1954: Freddy Bauer was the champion.
= April 7, 1956: Julien Moriss was the champion.
= April 5, 1959: Henri Le Mao was the champion. Le Mao was still the champion as of November 29, 1959.
= February 27, 1960: Bob Plantin was the champion.
= August 18, 1962: Henri Le Mao was the champion.
= October 12, 1962: Bob Plantin was the champion.
= December 18, 1962: Henri Le Mao was the champion. Le Mao was still the champion as of August 14, 1963.
= August 13, 1964: Michel Saulnier was the champion. Saulnier was still the champion as of April 8, 1968.

European Light Heavyweight Tag Team Championship:
= January 19, 1960: Jose Tarres & Robert Gastel were the champions.

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Governing body: FFCP (Fédération Française du Catch Professionnel)
Background: Created at the end of 1950 when a group of promoters and wrestlers broke away from FFL.
Notable promoters associated with it: Etienne Siry, Robert Lageat, Gaston Calliez.

World Heavyweight Championship:
= February 1959: Johnny Rougeau was wrestling in France and was the recognized champion by both FILC and FFCP. The story in France was that he had beat Lou Thesz for the title, which of course wasn’t true.
= October 3, 1964: Hercules Cortez was the recognized champion. Cortez was still the champion as of July 1965. He may have also been recognized as the champion by FFLP, but I can’t confirm. The story in France seems to have been that Cortez became champion by defeating Freddie Blassie in Chicago, which of course wasn’t true. Cortez was also the recognized World Heavyweight champion in Spain (since June 1964).
= October 23, 1966: Gil Voiney was the recognized champion by FILC and FFCP (possibly by the other governing bodies too, but I can’t confirm).
= January 1968: Franz van Buyten was the recognized champion (possibly by the other governing bodies too, but I can’t confirm). The story in France was that van Buyten was the World champion of an organization known as the International Wrestling Union.
= January 8, 1968: Jean Ferre (Andre the Giant) defeated van Buyten for the title in Paris. Ferre was still the champion as of December 3, 1971, and he never lost the title - he just stopped wrestling in France.

European Heavyweight Championship:
= October 7, 1952: Felix Miquet jumped ship from the FFL group, where he was the title holder, and was now the recognized champion by FFCP.
- late October 1954: Miquet left the FFCP group and was stripped of the recognition.
= October 14, 1955: Lino Di Santo was the champion. Di Santo was still the champion as of June 7, 1957.
= December 21, 1957: Gideon Gida was the champion. He had recently defeated Di Santo for the title. Gida was still the champion as of March 17, 1960.
= January 29, 1961: Lino Di Santo was the champion.
= June 2, 1961: Michel Allary was the champion. Allary had defeated Di Santo for the title in Paris. Allary was still the champion as of April 27, 1963.
= October 4, 1963: Horst Hoffman was the champion. Hoffman was still the champion as of December 4, 1966.
= March 14, 1971: Franz van Buyten was the champion.

French Heavyweight Championship:
= December 1950: Charles Rigoulot jumped ship from the FFL group, where he was the title holder, and was now the recognized champion by FFCP. Rigoulot was still the champion as of February 24, 1952.
= February 13, 1954: Al Cabrol was the champion.
= June 2, 1961: Andre Bollet was the champion.
- March 1962: Bollet left the FFCP group and was stripped of the recognition.
= April 29, 1966: Ted Lamar was the champion.

World Light Heavyweight Championship:
= December 17, 1955: Gilbert Leduc was the champion. He defeated Gerry de Jager in a match for the vacant title. He wasn’t the champion yet as of November 12, 1955. Leduc was still the champion as of October 18, 1962.
- At some point in 1958: Leduc was no longer part of the FFCP group, but remained with FFLP, so he was stripped of the recognition. In March 1961 FFCP and FFLP once again started working together so Leduc was recognized as the champion again.
= February 2, 1963: James Brown was the champion. Brown was still the champion as of March 29, 1963.
= August 14, 1963: Gilbert Leduc was the champion. Leduc was still the champion as of July 31, 1971.

French Light Heavyweight Championship:
= May 3, 1960: Pierre Boss was the champion. Boss was still the champion as of October 5, 1960.

World Mid-Heavyweight Championship:
= September 1952: Stan Karolyi was the recognized champion. He left the FFL group, where he was the title holder, and joined the FFCP group.
- At some point in 1958: Karolyi was no longer part of the FFCP group and was stripped of the recognition.
= October 5, 1960: Jean Bout was the champion. Bout was still the champion as of October 29, 1961.

European Mid-Heavyweight Championship:
= April 14, 1954: Jim Corbett was the recognized champion.
= September 24, 1954: Jean Bout was the champion. Bout was still the champion as of April 18, 1959.
= March 7, 1961: Michel Chaisne was the champion. Chaisne was still the champion as of December 12, 1964.
= April 9, 1965: Juan Botana was the champion. Botana was still the champion as of December 16, 1966.

French Mid-Heavyweight Championship:
= April 1954: Jean Bout was the recognized champion. He left the FFLP group, where he was the title holder, and joined the FFCP group. Bout was still the champion as of December 7, 1957.
= January 5, 1958: Michel Chaisne was the champion. Chaisne was still the champion as of May 3, 1960.
= October 10, 1961: Al Gamain was the champion. Gamain was no longer champion on January 20, 1963.

World Middleweight Championship:
= April 7, 1956: Roger Laroche was the champion.
= May 24, 1960: Jacky Corn was the champion. He had defeated Laroche for the title. Corn was still the champion as of October 4, 1963.
- Corn was no longer the champion as of April 2, 1964, but I’m not sure who was at the time.
= August 13, 1964: Jacky Corn was the champion. Corn was still the champion as of June 14, 1971.

European Middleweight Championship:
= November 1, 1955: Alan Colbeck was the recognized champion.
= November 6, 1955: Jacky Corn defeated Colbeck for the title in Paris.
= November 1960: Roger Laroche was the champion. Laroche was still the champion as of March 8, 1966.
= October 8, 1966: Jean Corne was the champion.

French Middleweight Championship:
= January 17, 1952: Pierre Combrouze was the recognized champion. Combrouze was still the champion as of August 14, 1954.
= September 21, 1954: Jacky Corn was the champion. Corn was still the champion as of December 9, 1960.
= January 21, 1968: Roland Emile was the champion.

World Welterweight Championship:
= March 8, 1966: Alan Mitchell was the recognized champion.

European Welterweight Championship:
= November 7, 1961: Guy Robin was the champion.

World Lightweight Championship:
= January 12, 1957: Modesto Aledo was the champion. Aledo was still the champion as of November 2, 1957, but was no longer champion on January 5, 1958.
= July 5, 1958: Jean Rabut was the champion. Rabut was still the champion as of April 18, 1959, but was no longer champion on June 4, 1959.
= February 4, 1960: Modesto Aledo was the champion. Aledo was still the champion as of October 1, 1960.
= October 5, 1960: Jean Rabut was the champion. Rabut was still the champion as of August 13, 1964.
= October 3, 1964: Modesto Aledo was the champion. Aledo was still the champion as of April 29, 1966.
= October 8, 1966: Michel Saulnier was the champion. Saulnier was still the champion as of October 4, 1969.

European Lightweight Championship:
= November 1964: Julien Moriss was the champion.
= November 24, 1954: Modesto Aledo defeated Moriss for the title in Paris. Aledo was still the champion as of January 8, 1955.
= February 8, 1957: George Kidd was the champion.
= May 3, 1960: Jean Rabut was the champion.
= April 13, 1963: Henri Le Mao was the champion.
= December 16, 1966: Modesto Aledo was the champion.
= December 6, 1969: Michel Saulnier was the champion. He likely defeated Aledo for the title on February 15, 1967, in Paris.

French Lightweight Championship:
= June 30, 1955: Julien Moriss was the champion. Moriss was still the champion as of November 28, 1955.
= October 5, 1960: Roland Daumal was the champion. Daumal was still the champion as of March 2, 1963.
= October 8, 1966: Albert Sanniez was the champion.
= August 23, 1969: Jean-Claude Trijo was the champion.

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Governing body: FIC (Fédération Indépendante de Catch) / FILC (Fédération Internationale de Lutte de Combat)
Background: FIC was created in 1954 when Paoli and Goldstein broke away from FFLP. It was replaced by FILC in 1955 (although FIC did return briefly in fall 1956-spring 1957 before FILC became permanent).
Notable promoters associated with it: Raoul Paoli, Alex Goldstein, Rene Ben Chemoul.

World Heavyweight Championship:
= October 17, 1955: Yvon Robert was the recognized champion and defended the title in Paris.
= December 12, 1955: Frank Valois defeated Robert for the title in Paris. Valois was still the champion as of April 21, 1956, but no longer champion on May 13, 1956.
= late April or early May 1956: Felix Miquet defeated Valois for the title. Miquet was still the champion as of June 1957.
- Miquet left the FILC group in fall 1957 and was stripped of the recognition.
= January 6, 1958: Lou Thesz was the recognized champion and defended the title in Paris.
= February 1959: Johnny Rougeau was wrestling in France and was the recognized champion by both FILC and FFCP. The story in France was that he had beat Lou Thesz for the title, which wasn’t true.
= March 17, 1961: Pat O’Connor was the recognized champion, despite him never wrestling in France. O’Connor was still recognized as the champion as of May 20, 1961.
= November 13, 1961: Lucky Simunovich was the recognized champion.
= December 11, 1961: Gil Voiney defeated Simunovich for the title in Paris. Voiney was still the champion as of June 15, 1963.
= December 14, 1963: Herculez Cortez was the champion. Cortez was still the champion as of March 26, 1964.
- Cortez jumped ship to the FFCP group in fall 1964 and I’m not sure if he lost the title before he did or he was simply stripped of the recognition.
= January 31, 1965: Gil Voiney was the champion. Voiney was still the champion as of April 4, 1975. However, Voiney wasn’t active in France for some of the years in between those two dates.
= August 14, 1977: Zarak (Dave Larsen) was the recognized champion.
= March 18, 1978: Ivan Strogoff was the champion.

European Heavyweight Championship:
= October 28, 1954: Francois Miquet was recognized as the champion when FIC was created. He was previously recognized as champion by FFLP.
- Miquet relocated to North America in mid 1956 and the title became vacant.
= March 3, 1958: Andre Drapp defeated Dai Sullivan for the vacant title in Paris. Drapp was still the champion as of February 8, 1960.
= February 22, 1960: Robert Duranton was the champion.
= November 14, 1960: Andre Drapp was the champion.
- October 1965: Drapp jumped ship to the FFCP group and was stripped of the recognition. He returned in spring 1966 and regained the recognition. Drapp was still the champion as of November 12, 1968.
= June 22, 1973: Bert Mychel was the champion.
= November 9, 1973: Monsieur Montreal was the champion. Montreal was still the champion as of January 22, 1977.

French Heavyweight Championship:
= March 25, 1957: Andre Bollet was the champion.
= November 1, 1957: Andre Drapp was the champion. Drapp was still the champion as of March 3, 1958.
= March 21, 1959: Robert Duranton was the champion.
= April 14, 1972: Ted Lamar was the champion. Lamar was still the champion as of April 30, 1973.

World Light Heavyweight Championship:
= March 7, 1972: Gilbert Leduc was the recognized champion. He had previously been recognized by FFLP and FFCP, and now he was working for the FILC group. Leduc was still the champion as of November 16, 1974.
= November 29, 1974: Daniel Schmid was the champion. He had defeated Leduc for the title in Reims. Schmid was still the champion as of April 13, 1975.
= October 25, 1975: Gilbert Leduc was the champion.
= March 12, 1976: Daniel Schmid was the champion.
= July 13, 1976: Gilbert Leduc was the champion. Leduc was still the champion as of July 25, 1977.
= November 19, 1977: Daniel Schmid was the champion. Schmid was still the champion as of January 27, 1979.

European Light Heavyweight Championship:
= October 28, 1954: Roger Guettier was recognized as the champion when FIC was created. He was previously recognized as champion by FFLP. Guettier was still the champion as of February 18, 1955.
= June 10, 1972: Warnia de Zarzecki was the champion.
= May 5, 1973: Inca Wiracocha was the champion.
= November 4, 1977: Franz van Buyten was the champion. Van Buyten was still the champion as of March 22, 1980.

French Light Heavyweight Championship:
= October 28, 1954: Lucien Fleurot was recognized as the champion when FIC was created. He was previously recognized as champion by FFLP. Fleurot was still the champion as of May 27, 1955.
= April 10, 1960: Remy Bayle was the champion.

European Mid-Heavyweight Championship:
= March 25, 1955: Rafael Echevarria was the recognized champion and defended the title in Paris.
= April 15, 1955: Eddy Koparanian defeated Echevarria for the title in Paris. Koparanian was still the champion as of December 6, 1956.
= April 12, 1959: Pierre Boss was the champion. Boss was still the champion as of December 6, 1961.
= June 12, 1977: Michel Chaisne was the champion. Chaisne was still the champion as of October 8, 1977.

French Mid-Heavyweight Championship:
= February 18, 1955: Roger Delaporte defeated Eddy Koparanian in Paris to become the new champion. Delaporte was still the champion as of November 14, 1955.
= July 4, 1956: Serge Gentilly was the champion.
= September 28, 1956: Roger Delaporte was the champion. Delaporte was still the champion as of November 1, 1957.
= December 8, 1957: Serge Gentilly was the champion.
= March 3, 1958: Roger Delaporte was the champion. Delaporte was still the champion as of June 22, 1958.
= April 12, 1959: Serge Gentilly was the champion.
= November 14, 1960: Roger Guettier defeated Gentilly in Paris for the title.
= March 7, 1962: Pierre Boss was the champion.
= July 13, 1976: Michel Chaisne was the champion.

World Middleweight Championship:
= March 7, 1972: Jacky Corn was the recognized champion. Corn was still the champion as of March 14, 1975.
= January 13, 1978: Walter Bordes was the champion.

European Middleweight Championship:
= before 1 February, 1955: Gregorio Jarque was the recognized champion. The story was that Jarque reportedly moved up to a higher weight class so the title was declared vacant.
= February 6, 1955: Max Deghom defeated Bert Royal for the vacant title in Nancy.
= February 22, 1957: Bert Royal was the champion.
= December 16, 1966: Dan Aubriot was the champion.
= April 27, 1973: Gerard Bouvet was the champion.

French Middleweight Championship:
= July 25, 1958: Al Araujo was the champion. Araujo was still the champion as of November 29, 1959.
= March 7, 1964: Paul Fernet was the champion.
= November 2, 1972: Jean Menard was the champion.
= December 15, 1972: Gerard Bouvet was the champion. Bouvet was still the champion as of July 6, 1973.
= February 9, 1974: Pat Vander was the champion. Vander was still the champion as of July 13, 1976.
= June 12, 1977: Rene Cabellec was the champion.

World Welterweight Championship:
= 1958: Rene Ben Chemoul was the recognized champion. Chemoul was still the champion as of November 2, 1972.

European Welterweight Championship:
= May 13, 1955: Jack Cunningham was the recognized champion.
= May 13, 1955: Guy Robin defeated Cunningham for the title in Paris. Robin was still the champion as of March 10, 1956, but was no longer champion on June 29, 1956.
= July 4, 1956: Guy Robin was the champion. Robin was still the champion as of October 18, 1958.
= June 20, 1962: Gilbert Cesca was the champion. Cesca was still the champion in 1969.
= November 24, 1972: Georges Cohen was the champion. Cohen was still the champion as of November 10, 1973.

French Welterweight Championship:
= May 14, 1955: Lucien Guillou defeated Mario Perez in Paris to become the first champion. Guillou was still the champion as of June 29, 1956.
= March 2, 1959: Gilbert Cesca was the champion.
= April 10, 1960: Mic Charre was the champion.
= January 19, 1961: Gilbert Cesca was the champion.
= June 20, 1962: Pierre Lagache was the champion.
= March 14, 1964: Albert Falaux was the champion.
= March 23, 1964: Gilbert Cesca was the champion. Cesca was still the champion as of August 4, 1966.
= October 8, 1968: Walter Bordes was the champion. Bordes was still the champion as of January 4, 1972.
= September 15, 1972: Georges Cohen defeated Pierre Lagache for the title in Paris. It’s not clear if the title was vacant or Lagache was the champion. Cohen was still the champion as of December 15, 1972.
= July 28, 1974: Bob Plantin was the champion.

World Super Lightweight Championship:
= January 4, 1972: Vassilios Mantopoulos was the champion.

World Lightweight Championship:
= May 8, 1966: Georges Cohen was the champion. Cohen was still the champion as of October 16, 1966.

European Lightweight Championship:
= February 22, 1955: Billy Catanzaro was the champion. Catanzaro was still the champion as of November 1, 1957.
= January 24, 1975: Daniel Parmentier was the champion.
= February 28, 1975: Al Kaci was the champion. He likely defeated Parmentier for the title on January 24, 1975, in Paris.
= January 31, 1976: Daniel Parmentier was the champion.

French Lightweight Championship:
= June 11, 1955: Gilbert Cesca defeated Claude Dreyfus in Paris to become the first champion. Cesca was still the champion as of September 29, 1955??
= September 28, 1955: Jean Rabut was the champion.
= February 25, 1956: Billy Catanzaro was the champion. Catanzaro was still the champion as of March 22, 1957.
= April 12, 1959: Louis Darenne was the champion.
= February 4, 1960: Michel Saulnier was the champion. Saulnier was still the champion as of June 20, 1962.
= December 18, 1965: Daniel Parmentier was the champion. Parmentier was still the champion as of March 4, 1972.
= July 18, 1973: Claude Roca was the champion. Roca was still the champion as of March 1, 1974.
= January 10, 1975: Marcel Roger was the champion. He was no longer champion on March 21, 1975.
= May 2, 1975: Claude Roca was the champion. Roca was still the champion as of February 17, 1978.
= November 11, 1979: Marcel Roger was the champion.

French Heavyweight Tag Team Championship:
- January 14, 1957: Andre Drapp & Eddy Koparanian vs. Roger Delaporte & Andre Bollet in Paris was for the titles, but it’s not clear who were the champions going in and who won. It’s also possible this match may have been to crown the first champions.
- January 19, 1959: Andre Drapp & Robert Duranton vs. Roger Delaporte & Paul Villars in Paris was for the titles, but it’s not clear who were the champions going in and who won.
- May 4, 1959: Andre Drapp & Robert Duranton vs. Roger Delaporte & Paul Villars in Paris was for the titles, but it’s not clear who were the champions going in and who won.
- May 2, 1960: Roger Delaporte & Andre Bollet vs. Andre Drapp & Warnia de Zarzecki in Paris was for the titles, but it’s not clear who were the champions going in and who won.
- March 13, 1961: Andre Drapp & Barnard Vignal vs. Roger Delaporte & Andre Bollet in Paris was for the titles. Drapp & Vignal won the match, but it’s not clear who were the champions going in.

European Mid-Heavyweight Tag Team Championship:
= November 10, 1961: Inca Peruano & Comte de Daidone defeated Jean Fryziuk & Mic Charre in Paris for the titles. It’s not clear who the champions going in were or if there were no reigning champions and this was a match to crown the first champions.

World Middleweight Tag Team Championship:
= February 12, 1965: The Black Diamonds (Abe Ginsberg & John Foley) were the champions. They were still the champions as of March 8, 1965.
= November 25, 1978: Walter Bordes & Gerard Bouvet were the champions.

World Welterweight Tag Team Championship:
= January 31, 1965: Rene Ben Chemoul & Gilbert Cesca were the champions. They were still the champions as of February 28, 1965.
= November 2, 1972: Rene Ben Chemoul & Walter Bordes were the champions. They were still the champions as of January 24, 1975.

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Governing body/wrestling promotion: FFLCA (Fédération Française de Lutte et de Catch Autonome) / ALLLA (Association de Lutte et de Lutte Libre Americaine) / CGP (Catch Gran Prix)
Background: FFLCA was created in 1962 and eventually it was mostly associated with Delaporte. Delaporte was not promoting wrestling for a few years in the 1970s. By 1979 there were no longer governing bodies in the picture and the titles were by the promotions themself. Delaporte’s promotion was now known as ALLLA. Around 1983-1984, or possibly earlier, the name of the promotion changed to CGP.
Notable promoters associated with it: Roger Delaporte.

World Heavyweight Championship:
= November 30, 1963: Pat O’Conor (Marius Servais) was the recognized champion and was wrestling in France. O’Conor was still the champion as of March 6, 1965.
= May 8, 1965: Eddy Wiecz (Edouard Carpentier) was the champion and he defended the title in Paris. Wiecz was still the champion as of July 1965.
= February 7, 1966: George Gordienko was the recognized champion and he defended the title in Paris.
= November 9, 1979: Bob UFO was the champion.
= December 23, 1979: Salvatore Bellomo was the champion.
= June 19, 1981: Rene Lasartesse was the champion.
= October 31, 1982: Cowboy John Ewing was the champion.
= July 13, 1984: Dick Murdock (Alain Lesage) was the champion.

European Heavyweight Championship:
= May 17, 1962: Bernard Vignal was the recognized champion.
= March 10, 1963: Lino Di Santo was the champion.
= September 24, 1964: Bernard Vignal was the champion. Vignal was still the champion as of October 16, 1964, but was no longer champion on January 15, 1965.
= October 23, 1965: Lino Di Santo was the champion.
= December 13, 1965: Roy Bull Davis was the champion and was set to defend the title against Eddy Wiecz in Paris (there’s a good chance Wiecz won the title here).
= August 29, 1966: Eddy Wiecz (Edouard Carpentier) was the champion.
= December 6, 1969: Bernard Vignal was the champion. Vignal was still the champion as of March 6, 1971.
= February 16, 1976: Monsieur Montreal was the champion. Montreal was still the champion as of January 22, 1977.
= February 25, 1978: Luc Verhaegue was the champion.
= March 27, 1978: Franz van Buyten was the champion. He had defeated Verhaegue for the title in Paris. Van Buyten was still the champion as of August 18, 1982.

French Heavyweight Championship:
= May 26, 1962: Andre Bollet was the recognized champion. Bollet was still the champion as of December 21, 1964.
= February 10, 1968: Jacky Wiecz was the champion. Wiecz was still the champion as of April 4, 1971.

World Light Heavyweight Championship:
= May 10, 1969: Roy St. Clair was the recognized champion.
= January 23, 1977: Gilbert Leduc was the recognized champion. Leduc was still the champion as of July 25, 1977.
= November 19, 1977: Daniel Schmid was the champion. Schmid was still the champion as of January 27, 1979.
= March 7, 1982: Yasu Fuji was the champion.
= August 7, 1987: Marc Mercier was the champion. Mercier was still the champion as of June 3, 1988.

European Light Heavyweight Championship:
= March 28, 1969: Luc Straub was the champion. Straub was still the champion as of April 26, 1969.
= August 3, 1980: Stan Czuback was the champion.
= February 8, 1981: Guy Mercier was the champion. Mercier was still the champion as of June 16, 1984.

French Light Heavyweight Championship:
= March 28, 1969: Luc Straub was the champion.
= November 7, 1980: John Black was the champion.
= October 23, 1982: Michel Falempin was the champion.
= February 5, 1984: Gerard Taysse was the champion.

European Mid-Heavyweight Championship:
= May 9, 1970: Michel Chaisne was the champion.
= January 31, 1976: Jacques Meurs was the champion.
= June 12, 1977: Michel Chaisne was the champion. Chaisne was still the champion as of October 8, 1977.
= May 3, 1980: Georges Cohen was the champion.
= August 3, 1980: Mario Pedrolini was the champion.
= February 24, 1984: Georges Cohen was the champion.

French Mid-Heavyweight Championship:
= May 26, 1962: Luc Straub was the champion. Straub was still the champion as of April 20, 1963.
= April 24, 1977: Remy Bayle was the champion.

World Middleweight Championship:
= June 26, 1962: Isha Israel was the champion.
= July 25, 1977: Walter Bordes was the champion. Bordes was still the champion as of May 3, 1980.
= May 2, 1982: Marty Jones was the champion.

European Middleweight Championship:
= March 6, 1965: Dan Aubriot was the champion. Aubriot was still the champion as of June 25, 1965.
- May 21, 1977: The title was vacant. Jean Corne vs. Paco Ramirez in La Roche-sur-Yon that day was supposed to determine the new champion.
= March 23, 1980: Jean Corne was the champion. Corne was still the champion as of April 8, 1983.

French Middleweight Championship:
= June 26, 1962: Al Araujo was the champion.
= February 8, 1980: Jean Menard was the champion.

World Welterweight Championship:
= March 14, 1969: Mustafa Shikane was the champion.
= April 10, 1970: Henri Le Mao was the champion.

European Welterweight Championship:
= March 10, 1963: Rene Asselin was the champion.
= July 12, 1964: Mic Charre was the champion.

French Welterweight Championship:
= March 23, 1980: Albert Sanniez was the champion.

World Super Lightweight Championship:
= October 6, 1969: Vassilios Mantopoulos was the champion. Mantopoulos was still the champion as of May 30, 1971.

European Lightweight Championship:
= March 10, 1963: Billy Catanzaro was the champion. Catanzaro was still the champion as of April 20, 1963.
= June 28, 1964: Michel Saulnier was the champion.
= December 18, 1964: Billy Catanzaro was the champion.

French Lightweight Championship:
= April 20, 1963: Daniel Noced was the champion.
= October 10, 1981: Marcel Roger was the champion.

European Women’s Championship:
= March 23, 1980: Leo Dewerdt was the champion.

French Women’s Championship:
= March 23, 1980: Brigitte Borne was the champion.

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Additional notes:

Primo Carnera was also defending a World Heavyweight Championship claim in France in 1958, but it wasn’t backed by any of the major French governing bodies, I believe. It is interesting though, because Felix Miquet was touring around Europe with Carnera at the time as his main opponent and Miquet had a solid World Championship claim in France, but it looks like he took a back seat to Carnera and let him claim the World Heavyweight Title in France while Miquet himself started claiming the European Heavyweight Title (again, not backed by any of the major French governing bodies).

There were a few other titles that I’m aware of, but I don’t know enough about them so I’ve excluded them from the list above.

In 1949-1953 FFL also had amateur catch titles, both French and European, in five weight classes. Amateur catch was pretty much pro wrestling masquerading as an amateur sport to avoid paying the higher taxes that pro wrestling events were subject to. I’ve excluded those titles from the title lineages above, but it is interesting to note that George Kidd and Mike Marino were two of the European amateur catch champions.